Meanwhile, the department has issued a statement on the International Arbitration Act.

The act was assented to in December 2017.

It seeks to:

• provide for the incorporation of the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, as adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, into South African law;• provide anew for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards;• repeal the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards Act, 1977;• amend the Protection of Businesses Act, 1978, so as to delete an expression; and• provide for matters connected there with.

The department points out that the “reforms contained in the Act will position the arbitration regime in South Africa at the forefront of international arbitration best practices.”